Removable firing pin assembly munition

ABSTRACT

A munition for delivery of a payload to an adverse target site wherein the munition has a firing pin assembly which separates from the munition after actuation of the primer means by the firing pin to prevent reuse of the firing pin assembly after delivery of the munition to the adverse target site.

States Patent Berlin et al.

Jan. 1, 1974 REMOVABLE FIRING PIN ASSEMBLY MUNITION Inventors: Aaron S. Berlin, Wilmington, Del.;

Vincent C. Little, Fallston; Toney Leadore, Havre De Grace, both of Md.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army, Washington, D.C.

Filed: Dec. 21, 1971 Appl. No.: 210,422

Assignee:

U.S. Cl. 102/64 Int. Cl. F42b 27/00 lField 0f Search 102/64, 65

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,356,389 8/1944 Decker et al. 102/64 Primary Examner-Verlin R. Pendegrass Attorney-Harry M. Saragovitz et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A munition for delivery of a payload to an adverse target site wherein the munition has a firing pin assembly which separates from the munition after actuation of the primer means by the tiring pin to prevent reuse of the firing pin assembly after delivery of the munition to the adverse target site.

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V.. B /l REMOVABLE FIRING PIN ASSEMBLY MUNITION DEDICATORY CLAUSE The invention described herein may be manufactured, used and licensed by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to us of any royalty thereon.

Our invention relates to a new munition, such as a grenade, and method for delivering a payload to a target site; the payload being a material such as chemical agent composition, explosive composition, or incendiary composition.

Prior art munitions, such as grenades, utilized a fuze assembly wherein the fuze assembly remained intact and integral with the munition after the munition was delivered to the target site; such as the prior art munition disclosed in U. S. Pat. No. 3,434,421. The prior art munitions presented the problem that the fuze assembly could be removed from the munition at the adverse target site and reused in munitions by adverse interests. Our invention was conceived and reduced to practice to solve the foregoing problem and to satisfy the long felt need for a munition, such as a grenade, which can be delivered to an adverse target site without a tiring pin assembly.

A principal object of our inventionV is to provide a munition, such as a grenade, and a method of delivery thereof wherein the firing pin assembly is automatically removed from the munition after the primer is activated by the firing pin; the munition being delivered to an adverse target site without the firing pin assembly.

Other objects of our invention will be obvious or will appear from the specification hereinafter set forth.

FIG. l is a view of the prior art firing pin and fuze head assembly.

FIG. 2 is a view of our inventive firing pin and fuze head assembly.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the utility of our invention in a munition.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the munition shown in FIG. 3.

Our invention, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, will now be described in detail as follows. The invention will be described in terms of a hand thrown grenade, as shown in the drawing, but it is to be understood by those of skill in the art that our inventive concept is applicable to any munition delivered to a target site by any suitable launching means.

When it is desired to prepare to deliver the munition shown at l in FIG. 3 to a target site, safety pin 2 is removed by pulling pull ring 3 tixedly connected to safety pin 2 while holding safety lever 4 against the grenade container 5; safety lever 4 serving to hold tiring pin assembly 6 under tension and to prevent the acuation of primer means 8 by striker point 9 of the firing pin assembly. When it is desired to deliver the munition to a target site, the grenade is hand thrown toward the target site which permits tension imparted by torsion spring 10 to cause firing pin assembly 6 to rotate in a clockwise direction to the point where striker point 9 activates primer means 8; the rotation of the firing pin assembly causing safety lever 4 to be ejected from the munition. Upon striker point 9 striking primer means 8, the impact force produced by the striking causes pin l2 integral with firing pin assembly 6 to be ejected from the notch shown at 11 and the firing pin assembly to thereby be removed from the munition. After striker point 9 activates primer means 8, the fuze and payload, not described herein and not a part of our invention, is activated in the conventional manner, as described in U. S. Pat. No. 3434421. Any conventional payload can be used with our invention; such as chemical agent composition, explosive composition, or incendiary composition.

It is obvious that other modifications can be made of our invention, and we desire to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

l. In an improved munition for delivering a payload to a target site comprising a container means to contain the payload, a fuse means having a fuse head assembly and being permanently affixed and mounted within the container means to activate the payload, a primer means to activate the fuse means juxtaposed adjacent thereto, and a spring actuated firing pin assembly means rotatably mounted on pin means and said pin assembly means having a striker point means to activate the primer means, the improvement in combination therewith being an ejection mounting means to permit ejection of the firing pin assembly at said pin means from the munition after activation of the primer means by the strikes point means and prior to delivery of the munition to the target site.

2. The munition of claim 1 wherein the payload is a material selected from the group of materials consisting of a chemical composition, an explosive composition, and an incendiary composition.

3. The munition of claim 1 wherein the ejection mounting means is a notch formed in the upper surface of the fuse head assembly, said notch being adapted to receive said pins means integral with the said firing pin assembly and to permit ejection of the pin means from the notch by the impact force of the striker point means striking the primer means. 

1. In an improved munition for delivering a payload to a target site comprising a container means to contain the payload, a fuse means having a fuse head assembly and being permanently affixed and mounted within the container means to activate the payload, a primer means to activate the fuse means juxtaposed adjacent thereto, and a spring actuated firing pin assembly means rotatably mounted on pin means and said pin assembly means having a striker point means to activate the primer means, the improvement in combination therewith being an ejection mounting means to permit ejection of the firing pin assembly at said pin means from the munition after activation of the primer means by the strikes point means and prior to delivery of the munition to the target site.
 2. The munition of claim 1 wherein the payload is a material selected from the group of materials consisting of a chemical composition, an explosive composition, and an incendiary composition.
 3. The munition of claim 1 wherein the ejection mounting means is a notch formed in the upper surface of the fuse head assembly, said notch being adapted to receive said pins means integral with the said firing pin assembly and to permit ejection of the pin means from the notch by the impact force of the striker point means striking the primer means. 